How to: Install the Visual Studio Tools for Office Runtime

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The Visual Studio Tools for Office runtime must be installed on each end user's computer before a Visual Studio Tools for Office solution will run. There are two versions of the runtime in Visual Studio Tools for Office to support solutions for both the 2003 and the 2007 releases of Microsoft Office:

  • Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Second Edition runtime is for Office 2003 solutions. The Setup program is VSTOR.exe.

  • Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office system (version 3.0 Runtime) is for the 2007 Microsoft Office system. The Setup program is VSTOR30.exe.

The correct version of the runtime must also be installed on any server where Visual Studio Tools for Office code runs. It is not necessary to install it on the development computer, because the runtime is installed automatically when you install Visual Studio Tools for Office. 

VSTOR.exe and VSTOR30.exe can be installed side-by-side on the same computer to support both Microsoft Office 2003 and the 2007 Microsoft Office system.

You must be an administrator on the computer to install the runtime.

To install the runtime for version 2007 solutions

  1. Install the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 or .NET Framework Client Profile on the end user's computer. The .NET Framework is required before you install the Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office system (version 3.0 Runtime).

    The .NET Framework 3.5 download is available from the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 page on the Microsoft Download Center, and the .NET Framework Client Profile download is available from the Microsoft .NET Framework Client Profile page.

  2. Install the 2007 release of Microsoft Office.

    For more information, see How to: Install Visual Studio Tools for Office to Develop for the 2007 Microsoft Office System.

  3. Run VSTOR30.exe on the end user's computer.

    VSTOR30.exe is on the Visual Studio Tools for Office installation media, and is also available as a redistributable package from the Microsoft Download Center page Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office system (version 3.0 Runtime). The prerequisites for the Visual Studio Tools for Office runtime are the same as the prerequisites for the .NET Framework.

    Unlike earlier versions of the runtime, if you install Microsoft Office after you install the runtime, you do not need to run Setup again to repair the installation.

  4. If you have non-English settings for Windows, you can install the correct Visual Studio Tools for Office Language Pack to see runtime messages in the same language as Windows. If any end users run your solutions with non-English settings for Windows, they must have the correct language pack to see runtime messages in the same language as Windows. The Visual Studio Tools for Office Language Packs are available from the Microsoft Download Center page Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office system (version 3.0) Language Package.

    For ClickOnce language support during deployment and installation, install the .NET Framework Language Packs. The language packs are available from the Microsoft Download Center.

To install the runtime for version 2003 solutions

  1. Install the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 or later on the end user's computer. The .NET Framework is required before you install the Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Second Edition runtime. The Framework is available from the Microsoft Download Center.

    Note

    You cannot use the .NET Framework Client Profile with Office 2003 solutions.

  2. Install Microsoft Office 2003 and Service Pack 1 (SP1) or later. For more information, see How to: Install Visual Studio Tools for Office to Develop for Microsoft Office 2003.

  3. Run VSTOR.exe on the end user's computer.

    If you install the runtime before you install Office, you must run VSTOR.exe again and repair the installation.

    VSTOR.exe is on the Visual Studio Tools for Office installation media, and is also available as a redistributable package from the Microsoft Download Center page Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Second Edition Runtime (VSTO 2005 SE) (x86).

  4. If you have non-English settings for Windows, you can install the Visual Studio Tools for Office Language Pack to see runtime messages in the same language as Windows. If any end users run your solutions with non-English settings for Windows, they must have the language pack to see runtime messages in the same language as Windows. The Visual Studio Tools for Office Language Package is available from the Microsoft Download Center page Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the Microsoft Office System (VSTO2005) Language Package.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Install the Visual Studio Tools for Office Runtime

How to: Install Office Primary Interop Assemblies

Concepts

Installing Visual Studio Tools for Office

How to: Install Visual Studio Tools for Office to Develop for the 2007 Microsoft Office System

How to: Install Visual Studio Tools for Office to Develop for Microsoft Office 2003

How to: Install Visual Studio Tools for Office to Develop for SharePoint Workflow Project Templates

Other Resources

Getting Started (Visual Studio Tools for Office)

Change History

Date

History

Reason

July 2008

Added information about .NET Framework Client Profile.

SP1 feature change.